Cole Hamels grinds out another victory as Phils take 2nd straight vs. Nationals

By DENNIS DEITCH

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have a path that can lead them to the postseason. It might not be easy to find and follow, but it exists.

That path, however, cannot be cleared without Cole Hamels at his best for the final three months. The July tea leaves are hinting that the southpaw is ready to put a harrowing first three months behind him.

Hamels dominated for seven innings, but it was his eighth-inning gut check and victory over former teammate Jayson Werth with the bases loaded that allowed the Phillies (45-46) to win their third straight, 4-2, over the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night.

"Cole was terrific against a really good lineup," said Michael Young, whose two-run double in the sixth gave the Phils the deciding runs. "Offensively, the bats are starting to get contagious."

That gave the Phillies six wins in their last eight games, all against above-.500 teams between them and postseason pay dirt.

"You have to crank up the intensity," said Hamels, who won his second straight start after a 2-11 start to the season, "and play up to the challenge."

There was challenge for Hamels that had playoff-level intensity.

The game boiled down to the Hamels-Werth showdown, a battle of two players who have been heating up in July. Werth entered the night hitting .407 (11-for-27) in the month and used his first plate appearance to take Hamels deep for his ninth homer of the season and a 1-0 lead for the Nationals.

That was the only blemish for Hamels, as he tore through Washington's struggling lineup through the first seven innings. He was at 90 pitches entering the eighth and seemed primed to go the distance on a night closer Jonathan Papelbon wasn't available.

It wouldn't be that easy. After getting the first out, Scott Hairston rolled an infield single to short. Then, in a scene too familiar to frustrated fans, Charlie Manuel's defensive replacement in right, John Mayberry Jr., showed that there are times he's no better than Delmon Young. Anthony Rendon skied a towering fly ball to right that carried to the fence ... except Mayberry, for reasons tough to figure out, was at a part of the fence about six feet from where the ball landed.

Fortunately for the Phils, Hairston thought Mayberry might catch it like he should have, so he had to stop at second. When Bryce Harper followed with a walk, Manuel took a stroll to the mound.

He wasn't going to take Hamels out, it was just to allow Hamels to recharge his battery on the sultry night.

"I just said, 'I'm not going to take you out,'" Manuel said. "I said, 'You got him?" And he said, 'I got him.' And he got him."

"He told me he was giving me a mental breather," Hamels said with a wink, referring to the term used for the extra two days of rest he reluctantly received prior to his start in Pittsburgh last week.

Hamels responded by striking out Kurt Suzuki for the second out, setting up the showdown with Werth. He got ahead 0-2 thanks to a friendly strike call on a high curve, but Werth worked it to a full count. The payoff pitch was sent to deep right-center field, but Ben Revere tracked it down about 10 feet in front of the "398" sign.

"I definitely didn't want to give up another homer to him," Hamels said. "He got me that first at-bat. It definitely made me more aware to be careful with him. He has been here, seen me a ton. I've seen him a ton. It's a serious guessing game, a chess match."

Asked if he was concerned the ball might carry out when it left Werth's bat, Hamels said, "Nah, I knew it was too high."

"Werth came close," Manuel said, "but no cigar."

The inning emptied Hamels' tank, so it was up to Antonio Bastardo to finish the game. Mayberry had more trouble on a Wilson Ramos drive that turned into a two-out RBI double to cut the Phils' lead to 4-2, but Bastardo got Hairston to pop out to Chase Utley and get the save.

The Phils can make it three straight series wins with a victory in either of the last two games of this four-game set. After that they have three against the White Sox entering the break.

Manuel hinted that winning 12 out of 16 in the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington, Chicago and New York Mets run was needed to convince general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that the Phils should be buying bullpen help and not unloading veterans. They are 6-2 at the midway pole -- right on pace.

"We know what caliber team we are," Hamels said. "We've been underachieving. This is taking the momentum to the next level and being confident in each other to get the job done."

"If we finished the regular season today," Young said, "we would have a really good record against the teams ahead of us (Atlanta and Washington), yet they would still be the teams ahead of us. But we know when we play those team, we have to put forth our best effort."

The Phils got all their runs off Washington starter Taylor Jordan, with some help from shoddy defense. Dom Brown followed a two-out double by Utley in the fourth with an RBI single to tie the score.

In the sixth, Revere and Jimmy Rollins opened the inning with hits, then Adam LaRoche tried to go to second with an Utley grounder for the force, but the throw glanced off Rollins' arm, allowing Revere to score. Young added needed insurance with a two-out double to center.

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NOTES: Catcher Erik Kratz (15-day disabled list, knee), serving as a designated hitter, had two hits for Lehigh Valley in a rehab assignment game. Southpaw Jeremy Horst (15-day DL, elbow) allowed one run in the ninth inning of the IronPigs' 6-1 win. ... Revere is hitting .451 (23-for-51) in his last 12 games.